Tips for travelling in Georgia

Beware the Sphagnum Moss (Ispani Mire)

The sphagnum moss suddenly sinks beneath my feet. I am following an overgrown track that wends its way through the Ispani mire. Beneath my feet is compacted sphagnum moss that moves as I tread upon it. I look for the least wet, the least slippery places, picking my way as my boys leap ahead, jumping from spot to spot to avoid the slushy brown mud. Surrounding us is a sea of huge ferns, many brown and brittle. Having shifting ground beneath me as I am hemmed in by a forest of giant ferns and tall plants is an otherworldly experience. An alien landscape, my husband calls it.

The sphagnum moss.

My five-year old daughter cries out when her stockinged foot slips out of her boot and goes into the wet mud. My confident seven year old boy also nearly loses his boot. I follow my husband's advice: walk slowly, stick to the green moss, stay away from the brown mud, walk straddling the path. I avoid disaster.

The track in front of us seems an endless repetition of the same. We turn back. The thorn-covered plants spike into my clothes as I leave the lonely mire behind. The day is warm and sunny, it is a Sunday afternoon in October, yet we are the only ones here.

The little brown and green frogs spring away from us as we walk, heralding our return to the green open area at the start of the nature reserve. My children are fascinated by the frogs, and the sphagnum moss, but collecting either is forbidden.

It is the old bridges that unsettle my husband and I the most. Our kids run across them, but they wobble in a most alarming way. One is tilted to the side, narrow, without guard rails and held upright by two very thin blue ropes tethered into the pool of water below. Another bridge has three missing slats. We make it across safely, but my husband has been here before on a raptor watching expedition when it was raining and he tells me how slippery and dangerous the wooden structures were.

The Ispani Mire is located behind the bustling seaside city of Kobuleti. It is a protected wetland area and has the stunning snow-covered lesser Caucasus mountains as a backdrop.

Tips:

Getting there is a typically Georgian experience. A curious sign points down a narrow suburban street.

The road then peters out. Keep driving and park on the grassy area. It feels like private property, but there is an informative and reassuring sign in English that leads the way to the mire.

It can get very slippery on the wooden structures - be careful.

Gumboots are a must.

Walk slowly.

Step on the green moss not the brown mud. Try to straddle the path.

If you feel your boot coming off, put your foot back in and secure the boot before trying to tug it out.

Unless you want a very wet, very boggy experience, try to go when it is dry and has been dry for several days.

I saw a leech. Be careful of these if you are putting your bare legs in the water.